


Don't Try That With Me

by fauchevalent



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:20:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2403254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauchevalent/pseuds/fauchevalent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily has a few choice words for Strauss.<br/>And somebody else who happens to be in earshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Try That With Me

Aaron Hotchner didn't think he was that easily wrecked by nerves, but the vision before him of Erin Strauss, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, had his mind racing.

"Hotchner," She began, "we need to have a talk." 

Hotch nodded, his face still showing nothing out of the ordinary. "Alright. Have a seat." Strauss didn't move a muscle.

"Is something wrong-"

The door burst open before he could finish- Hotch turned to look, and the red-faced Emily Prentiss stared back at him. "Emily." Strauss turned too, eyes narrowing again. Hotch sighed. He was going to get ripped open for this one.  
"Strauss." Emily replied, her expression almost a match for Strauss'. "We have some things to talk about." Strauss- was that a smile, Hotch wondered, because it seemed a lot more ill-intentioned. Emily simply nodded in agreement, and Hotch couldn't help but wonder what they had to discuss, and why the two were so tight-lipped.   
"Alright. Have a seat." Strauss echoed Hotch's earlier statement, and Emily shook her head. 

"You're not killing two birds with one stone today, Strauss." Emily said sharply, and Hotch crossed his arms-  _what was she talking about?_ "Hotch gets out, or we don't talk." Emily said, and Hotch, lost and a bit nervous, leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "Emily..."

"Done." Strauss dismissed, a sigh on her lips. She dropped the file folders she'd been holding onto his desk with a sharp  _thwack_ , clearly done with him.

Hotch, helpless against the two, left them in his office.

"Emily," He heard, and Hotch couldn't help but listen in.

* * *

 

**INSIDE**

"No, you listen to  _me_ , Strauss-" Emily pointed a finger at the blonde, anger flooding through her. "I know an Interpol mission when I see one, and I have this much patience for you playing dumb." Emily pushed her fingers together. "This much." She repeated. "You understand me?"

"Do you think you've connected some magical puzzle, Ms. Prentiss?" Strauss said eventually, after the silence had become too much like a loss to her. Emily scoffed. "Strauss, you're not rolling over the BAU so you can get the dirt you want." She rolled her eyes.

There was a pause. "Emily, there will be no issue if you want to come back." Strauss offered quietly.

* * *

**OUTSIDE**

Hotch's eyes widened. Come  _back?_ And  _interpol missions?_ What was going on, and how was Emily Prentiss wrapped up in it?

"Hey, Hotch-" Morgan laughed. "Strauss kick you out of your office?" As he began to stride away, Hotch replied. "Yes, actually. Could I get Garcia on something?"

Morgan stopped, turning back to his boss. "I guess- I could give her a shout... What do you need, Hotch?" Morgan was wiping concern from his face, trying to pretend it was nothing that Hotch was asking for this.

"Just-" He took a silent sigh, leaning against the banister. "Just look into a few things, I guess-"

"I _will call them,_ Strauss!" He heard Emily shout, and a bang echoed through his office.

Morgan nodded understandingly. "Any specific words you want to crosscheck, Hotch?"

There was a pause, and then, Hotch replied, "Interpol and Erin Strauss." Reid's attention was caught by this, and he looked up from his work. "Interpol?" He asked, looking from Hotch to Morgan. "Interpol?" Morgan echoed.

"Yes." Hotch affirmed, and Morgan began to duck around a corner to make the call.

"Oh, and Morgan?"

"Yeah, Hotch?"

"One more thing. Emily Prentiss."

"What?"

"Have her crosscheck Emily Prentiss in with those words."

The team shared a look of nerves, eyes all turning to Hotch's office as the blinds dropped and another bang sounded.

"Will do." Morgan said finally, dialing in Garcia and making the call.

* * *

**INSIDE**

"I'm not fucking _blind_ , Strauss! I know what you're doing, and I know why you want me out of the way!"

There was a pause before Emily added, "But I haven't quite nailed down why you're so intent on getting Hotch out of the way." She took a seat on his desk as she pondered it, her hand splayed across the files Strauss had brought in. "Emily Prentiss, don't you touch those files."

"You know," Emily said thoughtfully, her eyes darting from Strauss to the files, "In all the years I've known you, you've never used my full name. I got Prentiss a lot, sure, and even Emily as a mistake from time- but I've never known you to use 'Emily Prentiss'." She laughed. "I think you might've slipped and called me Lauren a few times, even- but never Emily Prentiss, and why is that?" Strauss lunged for the files, and Emily simply picked them up, rifling through them with a laugh.

"You're kidding me, Strauss."

"Why's that?"

"You know I won't touch this."

"You will if it's a direct order."

"From who?"

"Your BAU supervisor," Strauss said with the inchings of a smile, and Emily Prentiss did something she'd never done before.

She let her emotions get in the way.

* * *

 

**OUTSIDE**

"Bossman, you sure you wanna hear this?" Garcia's face was accompanied by JJ's, who had gone to help out in the research.

"Give it to us, Garcia."

"Sean McCallister lead a terrorist team for Interpol in- alright, that part's not clear- in a while back, a team made up of Clyde Easter, Tsia Mosely, Jeremy Wolff, and..."

"And what, baby girl?" Morgan leaned forward, nerves well hidden, as he asked.

"...And Emily Prentiss." Garcia mumbled.

"Damn it." Morgan muttered, though he accompanied it with a smile and a, "Thanks Garcia." 

* * *

 

**INSIDE**

"Shush, Emily." Strauss chastised, taking the files, "Your team will hear you. Such a bad liar you've been. Alright, come on. Give me something, Prentiss. At least look at me."

Emily made eye contact with the bruise on Strauss' cheekbone instead.

Strauss reached up to touch it gently, air hissing through her teeth in pain as she did. "That hurt, Emily. And I'm not sure you know that. But you _will_ take this case back on."

"And why's that, besides your brilliant plan?" Emily asked, standing up and crossing her arms.

"Because you crave closure."

"I feel pretty good about where I am, thanks. Do I need to call Clyde, or will this be much more polite than that?"

Strauss laughed. "Emily, Emily! You know that I got you where you are now-"

" _I_ got me where I am now, Strauss." Emily bared her teeth. "And last time I checked, I was not interested in playing politics with you, or giving you gossip. And Strauss? One more thing."

Emily rolled back a punch, deciding instead to wrap an arm around Strauss tightly, making sure her point got across.

"You ever threaten Aaron Hotchner again, and I will end you." 

* * *

**OUTSIDE**

"There was no way to know, Morgan." JJ tried to be comforting, but not even JJ could calm down the BAU- everyone in the group paced and grumbled, and Garcia sat in the bullpen with the others, for once in a blue moon. It just couldn't be fixed.

Everyone, that is, but Aaron Hotchner.

Hotch listened at his door, interesting phrases making their ways out at him. 

 _"You ever threaten Aaron Hotchner again,"_ He heard, and made it out to be Emily's voice,  _"And I will end you."_ Hotch heard another bang, accompanied by angry footsteps. He ran down the stairs, taking a seat at someone's desk, and everyone else took seats at their desks, Garcia and Morgan sharing Morgan's desk. Clearly, they thought, Hotch was about to make a plan of action. Instead, Hotch held up four fingers, one flipping down every few seconds until only one remained, and then the door to his office swung open.

"Strauss says she'll be out soon." Emily said, her eyes scanning the room. Otherwise, there was no sign of anything different on her. The group nodded awkwardly, and tried to play an elaborate charade of getting back to work. Hotch, however, was stuck, as Emily strode toward him.

"Prentiss."

"Sir."

There was a pause, and then Emily added, "You're at my desk, sir." Hotch stood, backing away to cover the awkward red color that went to his cheeks. "Sorry." He decided upon, but didn't make a move to leave. "Sir?"

"Prentiss, what did Strauss want to talk to you about?" He asked, leaning against the desk. At this, Emily went red in the face, dropping her eyes to her desk. 

"Uh, nothing, really, sir. It was just about my mother-" Strauss, awkwardly trying to make an elegant exit, had a hand across her face and covering her bruise, and used a quick sprint to make the limp seem less pronounced as she left the BAU.

"Hmm." Hotch commented, watching Strauss as she left. "Odd, isn't it?"

"What is, sir?"

Without missing a beat, he smiled and said, "That you seem to think you can hide these things from us." 

Hotch left a stuttering Emily in her seat, as he headed up to find a letter from Strauss that read 'this isn't over. -Strauss' 

"No," He said to himself, "No, I don't suppose it is."

**Author's Note:**

> [ In case it isn't clear, the case Strauss wants Emily to take back is Doyle's, and this takes place /after/ Emily has been asked to give dirt on Hotch but /before/ we find out she was Lauren. ]


End file.
